It's been a long dark time for Gotham City. Sagging under the
burden of economic depression, the teeming metropolis is rife
with corruption. The populace increasingly lives in fear, at the
almost total mercy of the criminal underworld. The good people
of Gotham, even those among the rich and powerful, are afraid to
change things. In fact, not since billionaire industrialist
Thomas Wayne and his wife were murdered years ago, has there
really been anyone willing to give back to the city - to stand
up for what's right, and act as a champion for the working
class... the everyman.

Wayne's son, Bruce, was traumatized as a child by the murder of
his parents, which occurred right before his very eyes. Twenty
years later, he's abandoned his college studies in
disillusionment and has wandered aimlessly through the seedy
underworld, in an attempt to understand the events that shaped
him. But it's not until a mysterious patron, Ra's Al Ghul,
rescues him from his downward spiral that Bruce begins to find
the answers he needs. Al Ghul's major domo, Henri Ducard, shows
him a better way... a way to fight Evil on its own terms. Armed
with this knowledge, Bruce will soon return to Gotham with a new
calling... to protect the good citizens of his city, and to
strike fear into the hearts of those who would prey upon the
weak.

I'm
happy to say that I quite enjoyed Christopher Nolan's new Batman
Begins. It's significantly better than I was expecting,
definitely an improvement on the previous live-action films. This
film is dark and atmospheric, and I particularly liked the build up
of the Bruce Wayne character - the classic origin mythos is handled
with respect and care, and is well presented here. You see how Wayne
becomes the Dark Knight, and it's entirely believable. As all the
pieces of his character fall into place, you're never asked to make
a leap of logic that isn't easy to make. Christian Bale is quite
good as the title character. He's able to perfectly convey the
uneasy sense of intensity and rage that lies just beneath Wayne's
controlled exterior. Meanwhile, Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman
lend tremendous gravitas to their roles as Alfred and a Wayne
Enterprises scientist who provides Bruce with all his crime-fighting
toys. It's also great to see Gary Oldman playing a genuinely
wholesome good guy for a change. I really liked him as Police
Sergeant Gordon (it's nice to know that as the franchise continues,
we'll see Gordon move up in the ranks). He even LOOKS like the
Gordon I recall from the comics. Both Liam Neeson and Rutger Hauer
contribute admirably to the film as well. Better still, the mood,
look and production design is pitch perfect.

Batman Begins, however, isn't
a perfect film. For one thing, it could easily be trimmed by 15 or
20 minutes and you'd never miss them. While the casting overall is
excellent, there's one major bit of miscasting. Katie Holmes is
certainly adequate in her role as Rachel Dawes (Bruce's childhood
friend turned Gotham Assistant District Attorney), but she also
brings nothing particularly unique to the part. And as good as the
first half of the film is, the plot gets a little bit too
paint-by-numbers in the second half. The build-up we see here gives
this Batman its own unique
style, separating it from the rest of the big-screen superhero pack
nicely, but the action later is pretty pedestrian. There's also a
twist in the last act that's entirely too predictable - it's
basically given away by a line of dialogue about halfway through the
film.

Still, one of my favorite things about this film is that it seldom
feels as if it was shot on a soundstage. This is particularly helped
by the Himalayan setting of much of the first half of the film
(actually, it's Iceland, but it passes as Tibet nicely). I also
think the stunt work here is exceptional. Most of the car chase
footage involving the Tumbler (a.k.a. the new Batmobile) was shot
with real vehicles, full scale and at genuinely high speeds, giving
it an authenticity that similar scenes in previous superhero films
have lacked. And I loved the use of Arkham Asylum in the story. Tied
as he is to Arkham, The Scarecrow is also nicely creepy (he's
clearly destined to return at some point). Better still, the film's
final act wonderfully sets up the potential emergence of a number of
the signature villains in future sequels, including (in a nifty
little touch) The Joker. And that's the key, I think. How the
sequels handle The Joker, in particular, will be the REAL test for
this remodeled franchise.

Warner's 2-disc Batman Begins: Deluxe
Edition features about as clean and fantastic looking an
anamorphic widescreen transfer of a film as you're going to see on
DVD, short of actual high-definition. There's almost nothing on Disc
One but the film, so the average video bitrate is well over 6 Mbps
throughout the presentation. Given all the chaotic motion and
fog-shrouded action here, that's certainly for the best. I noticed a
very tiny bit of compression artifacting on fine detail, like the
rocky outcroppings and swirling swarms of bats at several points in
the film, but otherwise this image is virtually blemish free.
Contrast is outstanding, with deep, dark shadows and yet plenty of
detail. The film's color palette is more subdued than vibrant, but
all the subtle flesh-tone shadings are rendered wonderfully. This is
absolutely state-of-the-art telecine, mastering and compression by
Warner's DVD crew, so well done to all of them.

Audio-wise, the disc includes a very good English Dolby Digital 5.1
surround mix (a French 5.1 mix is also included). The soundstage is
big and wide, with excellent panning, lively use of the rear
channels for both directional and atmospheric effects, and fairly
tight but natural spatial imaging. LFE reinforcement is good as
well, kicking in nicely when, for example, the Tumbler's
afterburners fire to escape Gotham's finest. I must say, I do find
the lack of a DTS track regrettable, because I think this film would
really have benefitted from such a mix's more natural sonic
qualities. Still, this is excellent cinema surround sound, so no
real complaints.

As I said, there's almost nothing on the first disc other than the
film itself. You do, however, get the film's theatrical trailer and
also the Tankman Begins short,
better known as the infamous MTV Movie
Awards spoof with Jimmy Fallon and Jon Heder. Sadly,
Warner also included forced trailers for Charlie
and the Chocolate Factory and Smallville:
Seasons 1-4 on DVD, which play automatically when you
first start up the disc (thankfully, you can skip them but they're
still annoying).

The extras on Disc Two are presented in a surprisingly interesting
way. When you first place the disc in your player, you're asked to
choose the menu language: English or French. Once you do, you soon
find yourself looking at the panels of an interactive comic book
(called Inner Demons according
to the DVD packaging). Using a tiny Bat symbol, you can navigate
through the comic's pages. On most of the pages (but not quite all),
you can also navigate down from the Bat symbol with your remote to
highlight bits of text or artwork in the comic images. Hitting ENTER
will then allow you to view various documentary featurettes and
other items. If you ever tire of exploring the extras this way, you
can simply use the Bat symbol to skip to the last page of the comic.
Selecting the little icon that looks like a letter on the last page
will take you to an itemized list of the bonus material for easier
navigation. You should note, however, that there are at least a few
Easter eggs (mostly brief featurettes) hidden in the comic pages
that aren't on this list.

Taking you through the list, the extras open with Batman:
The Journey Begins, a 14-minute featurette with Nolan and
co-writer David S. Goyer talking about how they began working on the
project, and how the cast came together. The next piece, Shaping
the Mind and Body, shows us how Bale physically prepared
for the role through exhaustive training. Gotham
City Rises looks at the film's production design,
particularly the way New York and Chicago served as a model for the
streets of Gotham. In Cape and Cowl,
we see how the Dark Knight's signature appearance and equipment were
given an overhaul and updating for the film. Batman:
The Tumbler is a particularly fascinating piece that
looks at the design of the new Batmobile... and just how much
punishment it was designed to take (AND dish out). Path
to Discovery focuses on Bruce's journey through the
Tibetan wilderness in the first half of the film. Saving
Gotham City takes you behind-the-scenes on the production
of the film's climactic monorail sequence. Finally, Genesis
of the Bat looks back at the Dark Knight's 70-year
history, and we learn from the filmmakers and various comic experts
which past stories in particular influenced the film. The disc also
includes an elaborate section of interactive Confidential
Files, which provide much more detail on the various
characters and equipment. Finally, there's an Art
Gallery featuring U.S. and International one-sheet art,
as well as interesting one-sheet "explorations." In all,
there's a good couple hours worth of material to check out. It's all
very solid stuff, although I would really have liked at least one
audio commentary track with Nolan and Goyer, and more interviews
with the actual cast members (beyond just Bale himself). I would
also have enjoyed a look at the film's production design artwork.
Ah, well. No doubt Warner's saving all that for next year's HD DVD
release.

I should note that the Deluxe Edition
also includes a mini-graphic novel in the packaging featuring three
stories "that inspired the movie." Included are The
Man Who Falls, The Long
Halloween: Chapter One and Bob Kane's original The
Bat-Man from Detective Comics
#27 (note that there's a little card inserted in the book
featuring a correction to the credits). You also get a couple of PC
DVD-ROM features if you care about those (which I don't).

I have to give Nolan and Goyer a lot of credit... this new Batman
works. The film is thoroughly entertaining and definitely holds up
to repeated viewings. More critically, the character's origin story
- Bruce Wayne's motivation and transformation into the Caped
Crusader - is nicely effective, with Bale more than capably filling
out the cowl and cape. My main question now is, how in the hell will
the filmmakers make me forget Jack Nicholson as The Joker? I'll give
them credit though... they're doing pretty damn good with Gotham so
far. I'm certainly willing to take another ride in the Tumbler to
see what's around the next corner. Batman
Begins is highly recommended.

You know... you'd think that if the future's so bright, it
wouldn't always be in as much jeopardy as it is in the Star
Trek universe. This time, there's trouble brewing
with the Romulans. It seems that a mysterious and power-hungry
usurper named Shinzon, supported by his brethren in the Reman
underclass, has staged a coup, wiped out the entire Romulan
Senate and taken control of the Empire, naming himself the new
Praetor. And now, this new Praetor wants to talk peace with the
Federation. Who better to send that Captain Jean-Luc Picard and
the crew of the Starship Enterprise, right? After all, if only
Nixon could go to China, only Picard can go to Romulus.

Well... it's a funny thing. You see, actually, Enterprise just
happened to be the closest ship, otherwise some other Captain
might have gone instead. But... and again, it's a funny thing...
it just so happens that this new Praetor isn't Reman after
all... but Human. And he isn't just Human... he's a clone of
Picard himself. Of course, these coincidences aren't merely the
work of random chance - Shinzon's manipulated the situation from
the start. It seems he's got a plan to extend his power and
control well beyond the borders of the Neutral Zone... and he
needs Picard to make it happen. As you can probably guess... the
galaxy just isn't going to be big enough for the both of them.

I
have very mixed feelings about Star Trek:
Nemesis. On one hand, this film has a lot going for it.
The idea behind the conflict between Picard and Shinzon is
absolutely brilliant. Having an aging Picard confronted with an
aggressive younger version of himself forces all kind of interesting
questions about the choices we make in life, and how differently we
as people might have turned out had our circumstances been
different. Picard vs. Shinzon is easily the best Trek
film hero/villain duo since Kirk and Khan, which is clearly what it
was modeled upon. Equally good in this film is the special effects
footage - finally, we see a space battle between large ships on film
that plays out like an actual space battle might. The ships spin,
maneuver fully in three dimensions, must rotate damaged sections
away from weapon's fire... and FINALLY the most obvious target on a
starship, its Bridge, takes a real hit. Also intriguing is a real
look at the heart of the Romulan Empire. We've seen Klingons and
Borg to death in Trek, and
it's nice to see the Roman-esqe Romulans get their due at last. I
even admire the effort to bring fresh blood and pedigree to the
franchise in the form of director Stuart Baird.

Unfortunately, Baird's presence on this film doesn't help much, and
all of the good I've just mentioned is seriously undermined by the
usual pandering to the audience that nearly all of the Trek
feature films haven fallen prey to. There's a conscious, almost
bludgeoning effort to remind Trekkers why we've loved these
characters for so many years (like we NEEDED a reminder?). There's
also an unnecessary effort to "inform" audience members
who might be new to Trek who
these characters are in the shortest amount of time possible (I've
got news for you: no one who ISN'T a Trek
fan cares, and it seems that even Trekkers are having a hard time
mustering enthusiasm for this franchise anymore). So we have to sit
through Picard making a noble speech about his career... but oh, ha
ha, it's all just a Best Man speech at Riker and Troi's wedding
(which, I'm sorry, should have happened YEARS ago and I'm just not
interested anymore). We have to watch as Data "gifts"
Riker and Troi with the performance an Irving Berlin song. We have
to endure Worf yet again being the party pooper, this time when he
says he won't get naked for Riker and Troi during their forthcoming
ceremony on Betazed (I'm not even going to explain that - "It's
tradition, Worf!" Troi smirks). There's lame joke after lame
joke ("Uuuggghhh, Romulan Ale should be illegal...," etc),
and oh, ha ha... aren't they all cute together. What you begin to
realize, is that these aren't characters anymore, they're
caricatures. And there's not much left of interest here that we
don't already know about them, and haven't known for years.

There's also a couple of rather unnecessary diversions in the plot
that exist solely for the purpose of setting up events that
transpire in the film's climax... and you can see them coming from
light-years away. Chief among these is Picard, Data and Worf's silly
off-road rally on a desert planet to pick up android parts that
(surprise!) just happen to form Lore - oops, I mean B-4, an earlier
prototype of Data himself. Gee... I wonder if that will be relevant
later, hhmmm? I don't know whether it was screenwriter John Logan
(of Gladiator fame) or
director Baird (U.S. Marshals)
or producer Rick Berman who came up with all this, and it probably
doesn't matter. All of them should have known better.

One thing I'm pleased to say... the actual movie aside, Paramount's
new 2-disc Special Collector's Edition
is a damn fine piece of work quality-wise. Most of the extras have
been relegated to Disc Two of this set, which means that the film
itself has a lot more room to breathe on Disc One. The result is
that the already great picture quality on the previous DVD release
looks even better here. Contrast and clarity are near perfect, and
the color shadings, both subtle and vibrant, are absolutely sublime.
This is a beautiful anamorphic widescreen image.

As good as the video is, the audio is even better. These Star
Trek feature film DVDs have always offered great surround
sound, and I think this is the best of the lot. You get the previous
disc's excellent Dolby Digital 5.1 mix, along with a DTS 5.1 track
that can best be described as a sonic tour-de-force. You're immersed
in the film's environment though everything from the most subtle
Bridge computer noises to the thunderous wallop of explosions. The
DTS mix offers an expansive soundfield that wraps you in atmospheric
effects, big wide panning and lively directional positioning. Just
listen to the film's signature battle sequence, that packs chapters
16-19. The cavernous commander center of Shinzon's warbird SOUNDS
cavernous. Phaser fire and torpedo volleys scream past your head and
race away behind you. The Enterprise-E takes an absolute pounding,
and you'll feel every hit in your chest through deep, gut-rumbling
bass. The DTS mix is an almost tactile experience, and it's a real
thrill.

By the way... blink and you'll miss it, but if you watch chapters
16-19 closely, you might just spot a cameo by X-Men
director Bryan Singer as a Bridge crewmember.

Okay... on to the bonus material. The most important thing you need
to know about the extras on this set, is that EVERYTHING that was
available on the previous DVD release has made the transition to the
new one. So don't hesitate to ditch the old disc. Better still,
there's plenty of new material for you to enjoy as well.

Disc One offers a trio of interesting commentaries. The first is
audio commentary with Baird, which is fascinating in that it reveals
just how much he clearly DOESN'T know about Star
Trek (it's the same track that was on the previous DVD).
I have to say, however, while he might not know the franchise well,
he really did give this film his best given the uneven material he
had to work with. The second is audio commentary with producer Rick
Berman, which is equally fascinating for the way it reveals just how
much Berman clearly doesn't get what's gone WRONG with Star
Trek and why. Fans are probably going to find many of
Berman's sedately delivered thoughts frustrating, but it's still
worth a listen. The third commentary is another subtitle-based text
track by Trek-sperts Michael
and Denise Okuda, packed with enough trivia to choke a Tribble... or
a Targ.

Disc Two contains the REAL quadrotriticale in this set (okay, I'm
really showing my fan roots here). It begins as usual with a Production
section. Here you'll find the all-new, 25-minute Nemesis
Revisited retrospective featurette, in which virtually
the entire cast and crew looks back at the making of the film. Even
guest star Tom Hardy (Shinzon) is included in the fun. The New
Frontiers: Stuart Baird on Directing Nemesis and Red
Alert! Shooting the Action of Nemesis featurettes I won't
go into here, as they were available on the previous DVD. Just know
that they're good and cover exactly what you expect them to (the
director's perspective and the stunt work). New to this edition,
however, are Storyboarding the Action,
Build and Rebuild and Four-Wheeling
in the Final Frontier. Again, they're solid, they detail
exactly what you expect them to (storyboarding, set construction and
the aforementioned dune buggy to be exact) and they feature lots of
interesting interview clips and behind-the-scene footage. Also
available in this section is a fascinating bit of screen test
footage for the role of Shinzon, featuring Hardy and Patrick Stewart
doing their thing on a stand-in set. The next section, labeled The
Star Trek Universe, contains the other two featurettes
from the original DVD release: A Star
Trek Family's Final Journey and A
Bold Vision of the Final Frontier. There's also another
new piece, The Enterprise E,
which looks at how the starship design evolved from the previous
film. The Romulan Empire
offers five new featurettes (Romulan Lore,
Shinzon & the Viceroy,
Romulan Design, The
Romulan Senate and The
Scimitar) that look more closely at this film's villains,
their environment and their technology, and also look back at their
evolution throughout Trek
history. There are LOTS of interesting interview clips here,
including writers Manny Coto and Garfield and Judith Reeves-Stevens,
talking about the Romulans' appearance in Star
Trek: Enterprise's fourth and final season. Deleted
Scenes is the real treat of this disc - all 7 of the
deleted scenes from the original DVD are included here (along with
Berman's video introduction). There's also 6 more that we haven't
seen before - nice. Finally, the Archives
and Trailers sections include
galleries of storyboard art, prop and production design artwork and
photos, the film's theatrical and teaser trailers, and yet another
promo for the Borg Invasion experience. As I said, DVD-wise this
Special Collector's Edition is
a damn fine piece of work.

By the way, there are a trio of good Easter eggs, all of them
hidden in the menu pages of Disc Two. The menus themselves are once
again beautifully animated, taking us from the Enterprise in space
down to the surfaces of Remus (Disc One) and the capitol city and
Senate complex on Romulus (Disc Two). Very nice indeed.

DVD thoughts aside, whoever writes and directs the next Trek
film... if there IS a next Trek
film... would do well to take a page from Peter Jackson's Lord
of the Rings playbook. We already KNOW who these people
are. Quit pandering for laughs and sentimentality and get to the
STORY already. Character moments should happen as a result of the
narrative, not just be spoon-fed to us up front like something that
needs to be gotten out of the way before anything else can happen.

I'll tell you this much... if I'm EVER going to shell out $10 in
the theater to see these characters again, then I need SOMEONE to
give me a reason to care. A REAL reason - not just yet another
contrived character death that's supposed to make us feel all
sentimental (I had this vision of Rick Berman sitting back in his
office as I watched the film, pushing buttons to light up signs next
to the screen labeled "laugh," "cry" and "applaud"
to get some kind of audience response). And I want to see something
new. Not new as in, "Oohhh, look at the cool Starfleet dune
buggy!" but new as in refreshing and actually interesting to
watch. Star Trek: Nemesis
isn't as uninspired as the sleepy previous outing, Insurrection,
but I have to tell you... when a buddy of mine (who's also been a
Trek fan for years) and I saw
this film on the big screen, we were both struggling to stay awake
after the first 30 minutes. Nemesis
gets better when it finally serves up the meat of its story, but
it's ultimately just proof positive that until someone with genuine
energy, enthusiasm and fresh ideas takes the reigns of this
franchise, the spirit of Star Trek
has decidedly left the building.